Phantom Ransom
by aireborne
Summary: Danny is stuck with two options: jail with his other enemies, or do what the GIW want. Not to mention the fact that the GIW weren't kidding around when they promised lots of tests and painful experiments. The only way Danny can get out of this mess is to team up with two unlikely partners and make a break for it, but can this unlikely trio fulfill their ransom before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

He was flying so fast you could hardly catch a glimpse of him in the sky. Sweat covered his brow and he was having trouble catching his breath, but there was no time for Danny to rest now. He wasn't sure where to turn; if he went back to Fenton Works then his pursuers could possibly find out his human identity. Not to mention he would put his family in danger. Well, as much more danger as a ghost-hunting family could be in anyway.

The white van with the white ghost-death ray (ghosts are already dead, who names these things?) were right on his heels, determined to catch the ghost boy. One of the Guys in White was holding a loud speaker and calling out to Danny promises of tests and experiments, lots of painful experiments, and so for some odd reason Danny wasn't too keen on letting these guys catch him. Instead, he tried not to think of what was chasing him and focused instead on his destination: Wisconsin.

If anyone could help him right now, it would be another halfa. Of course, this meant walking right up to his arch-nemesis's mansion and ringing the doorbell.

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I know this was a really short chapter, but it's more of an intro really. Hope you enjoyed, I want to have the next update posted fairly soon so keep a look out for that. Let me know what you think, please review!


	2. Chapter 2

It took Danny twice as long to reach Wisconsin that usual. Instead of flying directly to Vlad's mansion, he needed to take a couple of detours to slow the GIW's pursuit. At the moment, he seemed to have left them behind in some traffic on the freeway, but Danny knew that would not stall them for long.

He touched down on the perfectly manicured lawn, almost crumpling to his knees from exhaustion. He transformed back into human form, staying as a ghost took too much energy for the moment. Stumbling onto the long drive, he slowly made his way up to the two large mahogany doors. Normally, Vlad would have already noticed Danny's arrival and would have greeted him with feigned warmness, only to blast him later. Instead, it was unusually quiet, making Danny's hair stand on end and his skin prickle. Something definitely was not right, and he was feeling pretty vulnerable at the moment.

He pushed the front door open with ease, the main foyer beyond was dark, so Danny used his ghost ray for light. As he squinted his eyes, waiting for them to become accustomed to the dimness, all he could discern were large shapes and lots of dust floating thought the air. When his eyes adjusted he was shocked by what he found.

Ruble lay around his feet, and there was a gaping hole in the grand staircase leading up into the darkness. Quickly Danny turned back into his ghost form, on alert until he could decide whether or not there was a threat. Walking from room to room invisible (flying would take too much energy, and Danny wanted nothing more than a nap at the moment) he searched for his missing nemesis. Danny probably would've walked right past him if Vlad hadn't moaned for help as he drifted by.

"Is –is someone there," Vlad called out into the darkness, he had known someone had entered the room his was trapped in when the temperature had dropped.

Danny couldn't help but smile to himself. Here he was looking for help, only to find Vlad needing assistance as well. He found him trapped under a large piece of debris that must've fallen from the ceiling. Turning the rumble intangible, Vlad was able to crawl himself free.

"Why didn't you just turn it intangible yourself?" Danny questioned, but Vlad never had enough time to answer. At that moment a GIW agent shoved the barrel of his ecto-gun at the back of Danny's head.

Vlad smirked, "Thank you for being of assistance, Daniel."

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Hope you enjoyed the update! I have a lot of plans for this story, so the chapters should start to get longer. Just wanted to give you guys an update before a really busy weekend ahead for me. Thanks for reading!

Let me know what you think, please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Before he even had time to react, another GIW agent threw a sack over the young halfa's head. He would've fought back, but the ecto-gun aimed at the back of his head made him think twice. His hands were cuffed behind his back, and a large metal collar was placed around his neck. Danny couldn't help but wonder how he managed to get himself in such a mess this time.

As he was being led out of the mansion, the GIW guys not caring if he was tripping over ruble as they went, he could hear the others talking to Vlad. He tried to focus on what they were saying, but the agents shoved him forward and out of earshot. He was starting to feel groggy, probably a result of all the energy it took to get here in the first place. Danny stepped down the front path, probably to where the agents had left the van. He sighed. This was it, he was going to disappear inside this van and his friends and family would never know what happened to him.

But then there was a commotion behind him. Agents were yelling back and forth to each other, and Danny could sense a falter in the defenses. He should've taken that moment to act, turn intangible to escape the cuffs and fly off out of reach. Instead, he stayed where he was, like a sitting duck, to drained to act. The agents continued to yell back and forth to each other, and the one holding onto Danny's shoulder let go.

Another moment went by and the bag was ripped off of Danny's head. At first he was too shocked and blinded by the sudden sunlight to do much else besides stand there like an idiot, blinking in the sun. When his eyes finally adjusted he saw Vlad Plasmius floating above him, defending Danny from the ecto-guns being fired by the GIW.

"Well don't just stand there," Plasmius yelled with obvious frustration, "help me!" Vlad aimed one of his shots at the cuffs holding Danny's wrists together, breaking them apart. Danny smirked at the irony of his situation once more.

Turning to face the threat, he called up his ghost ray to blast the GIW agents out of his way. Instead of a ghostly green ball forming in his hands, a shock emanating from his neck rippled through his body, causing Danny to scream and collapse to the ground in pain. Vlad's mouth dropped in shock, but was too busy holding back the agents on his own to drop down beside Danny and help.

Danny lay crouched on the ground, his breathing quick and shallow. The shock of what had just happened (no pun intended) hadn't worn off, so he left himself completely defenseless. Vlad had to move in front of the young halfa to protect him, lest his only ally at the moment be recaptured.

Danny tried to go invisible, but another shock coursed through his body. He screamed again, this time in more frustration than pain, though it still hurt. A lot. The shocks seemed to be coming from the collar around his neck, so he grabbed on with both hands and tried to rip it off. This only made it shock Danny again, and by now Danny saw black dots dancing in front of his eyes and his mouth tasted like metal. He was getting so weary, it would be so much easier if he were to just lie down and rest for a moment. Vlad was protecting him, though he was too exhausted to wonder why. He could just close his eyes and-

No. He couldn't stop now. Vlad was barely holding the agents back and was growing tired as well. If Danny didn't act now, Vlad might just leave him to his own devices, more concerned about saving his sorry self than Danny as well.

Vlad could see that the boy was struggling against something. Normally, Daniel would've flown up to Vlad's aid by now, said some snarky comment, and blasted the GIW agents into next week. He couldn't hold the agents back on his own forever, he had to act now before he was too exhausted to continue as well.

Without further hesitation, Vlad through up a force-field and swooped down to the other halfa's aid. He grabbed hold of Danny's shoulder, and willed the two of them to go invisible. The collar sent another shock through Danny's body which then jumped into Vlad's, causing both of them to scream.

Vlad cursed in frustration, and the shock had caused his force-field to falter. The GIW agents closed in, surrounding the two ghosts who had crumpled to the ground. One of the agents pressed a gun against Vlad's head to insure no more tricks. There must have been a remote control to go with Danny's collar, because in another moment it was shocking him again, but this time it didn't relent until he passed out.

Vlad watched hopelessly as they lifted Danny's body and through him into the back of the van. The boy looked so small surrounded by so many GIW agents. Next it was Vlad's turn. An agent cuffed his hands together and strapped on a matching collar. Vlad was then pushed forward and into the van. The men slammed the doors shut and Vlad was thrown into darkness.

As the van rumbled and bumped down the drive, Vlad couldn't help but wonder how he could've been so naïve as to trust the GIW to get him what he wanted. This was his fault, and now he had dragged Danny along for the ride as well.

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Hope you enjoyed! May have the next chapter up as soon as today, just need to finish writing it.

Please let me know what you think! Leave a review!


	4. Chapter 4

Danny woke up a few times on the way to who knows where, the bumps and jostling of the van pulling him out of the darkness. When he finally woke up for good, the entirety of his body was tingling, probably a side-effect from being shocked into unconsciousness.

The room he was in was cold, dark, and completely quiet. This silence was unnerving and made the hairs on the back of Danny's neck stand on end. His hands were shackled up against the wall, high enough that his feet just barely touched the ground and his arms were stretched out uncomfortably above his head. The collar that had been placed around his neck was pressed up against the wall in a manner that crushed his throat, making his breaths labored. This was certainly going to be fun.

Danny didn't have much time to wonder where Vlad had been taken before he heard a door being opened a ways off and the sound of boots approached him. They probably knew he was awake and were coming to test out their new toy.

Two men approached him; one was a common GIW employee: tall, broad shoulders, muscular, shaved haircut and an impeccable white suit. The other man was much different, and Danny was surprised that the GIW let this man get away without wearing the standard-issue suit. Instead this man was short and wore a lab coat that was way too small for his fat body, with large, round glasses that made his eyes look twice as large. His eyes darted around the room anxiously, and he muttered to himself.

The GIW agent walked over to Danny, and switched on a long metal pole that Danny hadn't noticed before. The pole began to hum, and a green cloud of energy seemed to hover around its tip. This couldn't be good. The GIW agent looked the halfa right in the eye, and Danny could swear he smiled. The pole was jabbed right into Danny's stomach, causing his entire body to convulse and strain against his bonds. Danny tried to scream, but the pressure on his throat from his collar prevented it, and instead his scream was stopped in his throat. It felt like every particle in his body was being torn apart, and when the pole was finally removed from Danny, every particle felt as though they were forcing themselves back into each other, but like jigsaw puzzles

Danny hung his head, and his breaths came out in short gasps. White hair hung in his eyes and he starred at the two pairs of shoes in front of him. The men seemed to be talking to each other, but they sounded distant. Danny tried to focus on the shoelace of the GIW, but his vision was blurring in and out, and his head was beginning to spin. He felt like he was going to be sick all over those shoes.

Well, the men must have made a decision, and after the little man in the lab coat marked some things down on a clip board the pole was jabbed back into Danny's middle.

This time he did manage to scream, though it came out like a bubble and seemed to stop in midair. His back arched away from the way, and the cuffs dug in on his wrists, but Danny could hardly notice the blood dripping down his arms. The pole in his stomach felt like a red hot iron, ripping the seams apart in the boy. Heat ran through his entire body, like lava bursting from the inside.

The pole was removed once more and Danny slumped against the wall. His breaths were shallow and sweat covered brow. He hung his head and didn't even bother to study the shoes before him. He just closed his eyes and welcomed the darkness that beckoned him forward.

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sorry for the long hiatus, but here you are...TWO CHAPTER UPDATES. and if you follow some of my other stories I hope to be updating those soon as well. Winter break is coming up so hopefully I will be productive again in the near future!

thanks for reading, comments questions and concerns are always welcomed in the reviews!


	5. Chapter 5

The next time he awoke the first thing he noticed was the pounding in his head, it felt like someone was playing a wicked drum solo, but his head was the drum.

Danny waited for the drums to subside before taking in his surroundings. Without opening his eyes he took note of how now he was on the ground of an uneven, ice cold, hard surface, and he seemed to be un-bound from his previous shackles, but the collar still remained. His head was somewhat cushioned under something thin and velvety, but damp and somewhat scratchy and irritating. His wrists stung from where they had been cut on the shackles, and he shivered in the cold of his cell.

Hesitantly, he opened his eyes, bracing himself for the next chapter of horrors the GIW could have in store.

He was lying alone in a classic old cell, like the kind you would expect to see in the dungeons of a medieval castle. The floor was made from cobblestones, and in places was wet and covered in moss from the leaky nature of the cell. Cast iron bars locked him in, and the walls were made from a combination of large and small stones, with no windows.

Slowly, Danny sat up, wincing at the pain in his stomach and trying to use his hands for support because bending his wrists sent up new shocks of pain. He leaned his head against the wall and sighed, his breath turning into a blue wisp.

Instantly Danny was on alert, preparing himself for a confrontation with another ghost, unsure if the ghost he would meet would be a friend or foe. He tried to sit still and listen, straining to hear if there actually was someone else in the cell with him or if he was just psyching himself out for no reason.

Hesitantly he crawled forward, his hand brushing against the tattered cloth that had cushioned his head, making the halfa pause. He lifted up the red and white cloak, trying to place in his mind where he had seen it before.

"Ah, Daniel. How was your sleep?" called Plasmius as he stepped out of the darkened corner of the cell.

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I know, i know, short chapter. but hey, i updated twice in one night! hope to have the next few chapters up in a week or so because winter break is coming up, so stay tuned!

thank you for all your support, please review!


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